Blinded
by heyprincess
Summary: Because Dan finally realized that most things aren't what they seem. Which wasn't always a bad thing, he decided. No, not if it's how he got her. Dan/Blair/Chuck


Dan doesn't know how they became friends. One moment it was Christmas Break and they had seen one – or five – movies together, but made nothing of it. Then they were exchanging texts daily, and they still insulted each other but smiled when they did it, and now she calls him when she's upset and he does the same. So it's safe to say they're a big part of each other's lives. Everyone's a little bit dazed by their friendship, not entirely sure of when it happened, but not being able to remember a time when they weren't often together either. She's still seeing Chuck romantically when the two aren't fighting or scheming against each other, and he says he doesn't mind but he really does but not enough to give her an ultimatum and lose her when he's just found her. Because damnit, he likes her. So what? It's not like it's a big deal that he may be in love with the girl he dedicated his entire high school experience to hating.

She turns up at his loft one night when he doesn't expect her, looking thoroughly disgusted and put out by the looks of his humble abode. He opens the door widely and invites her in, trying not to chuckle when she shudders but complies. He's wearing PJ bottoms and nothing else, and he hopes that's not weird for her but if it is she doesn't mention it. Blair enters slowly, obviously inspecting the place for germs or dust bunnies or whatever the hell she expects to find. Once finding it as satisfying the minimum requirement that her standards allow, she gingerly sits next to him on the couch, picking invisible pieces of lint off of his favorite plaid pajamas. He recognizes the look she sends him then.

"What?" he looks down at the pants, then back up at her. She has a fake smile on her face as she thinks of a way to break the news to him kindly.

"You really need to invest in some new clothing," she proceeds to tell him condescendingly. Scratch the whole let-him-down-gently thing. Not that she ever does. It's not really their thing.

"How about I sell a pair of – oh, I don't know, your _socks_, on eBay. Could probably get myself five more of these babies with half of however much they cost," he rolls his eyes at her and she scoffs.

"That right there should tell you something, Humphrey," and the smile returns as she pats him on the back – hard. He nudges her playfully with his shoulder, severely underestimating his strength as she sails sideways. As Blair stares up at him, half-sitting, half-lying, _all_-angry, he realizes he should be afraid. "You ass!" she sits up quickly, adjusting the velvet headband perched daintily on the top of her head. "Didn't your parents teach you manners? Oh. Nevermind," she says breezily. "I forgot what part of town I was in. And who your sister is."

"Hey," he warns, eying her warily. They don't discuss Jenny very much – she will always and forever be his sister and Blair's, well – let's not get into that. She huffs but doesn't delve further into the topic, which Dan is thankful for. "So," he breaks the awkward silence that sits in the air for a moment. "Have time for a movie?" He gives her an impish grin, and she has to hold back her smile as she replies.

"If we must. But you're making the popcorn this time! Just don't make too much," she gets out hurriedly as he stands up to search the DVD stash. "I'm supposed to go out and meet Serena and Chuck for supper at 11. When he turns his head to give her the patented Humphrey glare, she has a sweet smile waiting. "Sorry!"

"Oh, don't you give me that look," he warns teasingly. Blair just bats her eyelashes at him for added effect. "Who do you think you are Blair, Serena? I am not at your beck and call." It's meant to be a joke, but he doesn't miss the way she stiffens. "Shit. Sorry. That was uncalled for, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry," she says cooly. "I'm used to it by now, no hard feelings." Dan sighs now, knowing better. Standing up and walking towards her, he eased himself down onto the couch beside her. In response she turned herself away from him slightly, not meeting his gaze.

"Blair," he tries.

"It's fine," she snaps back at him. "I'm used to people bowing down at Serena's feet, being at her 'beck and call' as you say. I don't need that. I'm a strong, independent woman." Dan almost smirks at her attempts to convince herself, before he sobers up at the thought that she's angry with him.

"Hey, hey," he cups the side of her face with one hand and attempts to turn it towards him, but she refuses, only glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She does a double-take at the look on his face, and he feels self-conscious under her gaze. "What?" he asks sheepishly. "Is there something on my face?" He knows his feelings were showing, though. He's kind of predictable and see-through like that.

"No," she says softly. "It's nothing." Blair looks down at her lap, where his much-larger hand is atop her tiny one, finally noticing how close their proximity is. Apparently Dan realizes it as well, because he clears his throat nervously, leaning backwards on the couch. He still doesn't remove his hand from hers though, and Blair tries to list all the reasons why this should be normal in order to convince herself that it is. But it's not, it's really not. They don't do this. He's Brooklyn and she's the Upper East Side and they're friends but maybe something more but they don't ever admit it. Still though, she feels a warmth shoot through her from the contact that she hasn't felt in a while. It's nice, she muses. But then it's gone and his hand has left hers, and she tries to act nonchalant but it kind of hurts. Only it's around her shoulder then, pulling her towards him gently. She looks up at Dan and he has that smile on his face that he reserves just for her, so she allows herself to rest her head on his shoulder. Blair is enjoying the silence for the moment, but then the TV startles her out of her reverie with the opening credits for a movie she loves. Oh. She had almost forgotten they had been about to watch a film. She can barely follow along though, which confuses her. She doesn't understand why she is so preoccupied with the fact that they are touching. Blair is strangely hyper-alert, picking up on things she would normall ignore, like that she can smell his cologne, and that her shirt had ridden up slightly, allowing a sliver of her skin to come in contact with his toned body. It's too strange, and she begins to panic ever so slightly. "No popcorn?" she tries to ask playfully, but her voice ends up sounding raspy and nervous. It does wonders to kill the moment though, because he jumps up quickly to comply to her wish and she is left surrounded by nothing.

* * *

Dan rushed into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of microwave popcorn and fumbling with the plastic wrapping. "Damnit Blair, I'm going to miss the best part!"

"Hm?" she sounds slightly dazed. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry!" He isn't used to seeing her shaken up like this. It's making him nervous as well. Something had changed between them over the past couple months though. Hell, you'd have to be a blind idiot not to notice that. Dan couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that his feelings had begun, but right now he felt like all he wanted to do was touch Blair. Not that he didn't want to touch her often, because he did. To have her tucked into his side like that had just brought out the possessive side of him – a side that didn't want to think about her and Chuck, or her and Nate, or her and whoever the hell had tried to get into her pants in the past. Even the thought of someone attempting such a thing left him clenching his fists involuntarily. Then he realized he was becoming angry, which just stood to leave him anxious. He was way too invested in Blair, in something that would never be. His thoughts combined with Blair behaving nervously made the house seemed entirely too flooded with tension. "Drinks?" his voice cracked when he asked, and he coughed to cover it up.

"Preferably something with a high alcohol content," she called back. Good. Maybe getting them both liquored up would help ease their nerves.

"That can be arranged," Dan confirmed, and she laughed from where she was sitting. He brought the popcorn in first, setting it on the table before going back for the drinks. "Okay," he carried them in carefully. "I may or may not have filled them up to the brim, and so help me God if I manage to spill-" A carefully placed remote and the Humphrey clumsiness cause him to go flying forward, and the contents of both drinks are deposited onto Blair's outfit. It's all happened so fast, and she freezes where she's at, face and clothing covered in alcohol, while he does his best not to cringe. Waiting for a scream and lecture that never come, it takes him a moment to realize she's laughing. Hard.

"Oh my God, Humphrey. Only you," she laughs loudly. He joins in once he realizes that she is actually laughing, and it's not a manic I've-reached-my-breaking-point laugh. "I should be so angry and you should be running for your life. You're just lucky it's you." A hand flies up to rub the nape of his neck, as he is still very much embarrassed. He's been told he's not very graceful, especially not while pitching forward clumsily. Blair stands up awkwardly then, dripping slightly onto the hardwood floor. "I'm just gonna, uh-"

"Here, I'll lend you something," he offered helpfully.

"If it's plaid, I swear Dan, I will castrate you while you sleep." Of course it is though, and when she emerges from the bathroom he has to do a doubletake. There, in all her glory, is Blair: face scrubbed clean, hair tied, clad only in one of his oversized plaid shirts and her boyshort underwear. "All of your pants kept falling down," she said haughtily, blushing when she caught him staring at her with his mouth open. "I'm not sure whether I should be happy that you don't own anything with drawstrings, or embarrassed at my lack of attire. For my own sake I'll go with the first option" He merely nods numbly in response, and she stalks past him to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he asks her curiously.

"Making my own drink," she smirks from the counter. "I prefer to consume – not wear – my alcohol."

"Sorry," he says sheepishly once again.

"It's also semi-depressing that we match," she teases, and he suddenly realizes that yes, they do match. He had only noticed how long her legs were. "I don't even want to know how much more of this pattern is in your closet."

"So that's where that top went," he snaps his fingers in recognition. "Matches these," Dan pulled the waist band back and allowed it to snap against his skin.

"I take it all back. I think elastic waists are worse than any drawstring could ever be," he pretends to be hurt, but chuckles still.

"Sorry they're not up to your standards, Miss Evil Dictator of Taste." Blair laughs, and then she is back and pressing play and leaning into his side once more. He decides to just go with it now, lazily draping his arm around her once again. She snuggles deeper into him, and where is the flustered Blair who just twenty minutes ago was requesting he go make her food when they were too close? It seems like too soon the movie is ending, and Dan quietly asks her if she will be spending the night only to find her breathing has slowed and she has fallen asleep curled up against him. It is only nine o'clock, but hell would need to freeze over before he would wake up this peaceful Blair which he really isn't used to seeing, but could definitely get used to. After a couple of minutes pass, he gently rests his head on top of hers, and finds that the smell of her shampoo is lulling him to sleep as well.

* * *

Dan is startled awake by the sound of voices in the apartment. He blinks blearily a couple of times and the faces of Chuck, Serena, and Nate come into view. He goes to sit up but finds himself unable to. Everything then comes flooding back to him as he realizes that at some point during the night he has managed to fully lie down on the couch, while Blair is settled in like a deadweight on top of his chest. She is facedown on top of him, her face snuggled into his neck, and the plaid shirt had ridden up, exposing her underwear to everyone there. He took a moment to be embarrassed for her, before comprehension dawned that probably everyone in this room had already seen her naked. Except him. And then he realizes what this must look like, her in his matching plaid and both of them half-naked. A rush of cold, immediate fear races through him, and the adrenaline alone gives him the strength to sit up. Blair topples off of him onto the floor, waking up with a yelp.

"What the fuck, Dan?" she moans from the ground. She turns her head to the side, only to be met with the sight of three pairs of feet. "Oh my God," she mutters, sitting up now as well. The looks on everyone's faces would be comical if this weren't her worst nightmare come true. They all knew that her and Dan had become friendly, but not to the actual extent that they were.

"Hey guys," Dan laughed nervously. "I'd ask how everyone got in here-"

"But Nate has a key, I'm sure," Blair groaned. The looks of shock hadn't faded yet, but varying degrees of anger, jealousy, and confusion had been added as well.

"I just – I'm not sure if I should ask, or-" Serena began, but stopped. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words.

"I think what she means to say," Chuck said tersely. "Is would either of you two care to explain what the hell is going on?"

"I would honestly just like to know what _Blair Waldorf _is doing in Brooklyn of all places," Nate asked good naturedly.

"Well," Dan and Blair both began at the same time, before looking at each other awkwardly.

"This is too weird," Serena rubbed at her temples.

"Nothing happened," Dan began. "We were just-" Chuck had him picked up by the collar of his shirt so fast that no one saw it coming.

"Don't even try lying to us," he hissed out from between clenched feet. "I walk in here to find the girl that I'm in _love_ with on top of you, in your shirt, with no pants, and you have the audacity to tell me that nothing fucking _happened_?" Blair stood up now, eyes ablaze with fury.

"You put him the fuck down, Chuck, I swear. If you hurt him, I will _end _you," she swore at him angrily. Serena and Nate just watched the exchange in shock. "He's telling the truth, nothing happened, you ass."

"Since when did you start to care about Dan Humphrey?" Chuck scoffed, trying to cover up his insecurity over her obvious rejection of him. He said he loved her and she had the audacity to yell in his face?

"It just looks kinda bad, guys," Nate spoke up. "I mean, I want to believe you and all, but I'm just seeing empty liquor bottles on the counter and a severe lack of clothing." Blair whirled around on him, shooting him a dirty look.

"You don't have to believe us," she hissed. "But I just find it kind of strange that you're all of a sudden Mr. Observant. I mean, you've got the looks Natie," Blair uses his old nickname sarcastically. "But you never were the sharpest." Then she turned to Serena, who still looked slightly dazed by everything.

"Well, you believe us, right Serena?" Dan asked her.

"Yeah, of course she does. Right S?" Blair chimed in hopefully. Chuck and Nate began to file towards the door, and Serena only shrugged her shoulders helplessly before sending the two an apologetic look. Then she headed out after Chuck and Nate. "Wait! Why the hell were you guys even here in the first place?" she called from the doorway as they trooped down the stairs of the building. Chuck glanced up warily.

"If you must know we were looking for _you_," he muttered. "Dorota and Serena were worried sick when you never came home last night. Dinner, remember? We were coming to see if Dan had any idea where you were. Well, he definitely did, I guess." Then Dan and Blair were all alone.

"I have to go," Blair muttered after a moment, running into Dan's room to search for her shed clothing. She found it finally, after basically tearing his room apart, and slid her jeans on. They were still stained, but it seemed like escaping was her only priority right now.

"Blair," Dan started.

"Just shut up, Humphrey – just shut the fuck up."

"Oh, so we're back on a last name basis, are we Waldorf?" he asked, oddly hurt.

"So we fell asleep together. On a couch. Nothing _happened_," she scoffed, jumping around on one leg while trying to pull her boot on. "Don't forget that." Dan's hopes were sinking by the second. She was right - so they were best friends but never admitted it. It was nothing more. He had been stupid enough to think that maybe there had been something romantic in the air last night. Give the girl a drink and she was all over everyone. Stupid, Dan, stupid. It apparently took her leaving for the realization that he truly was head-over-heels for her to hit him. And hit him it did. Like a ton of bricks. Along with a shitload of jealousy.

"This is because of Chuck, isn't it?" he accused as she stuffed her cellphone and ruined shirt into her bag. That caught her attention, and she scoffed as she looked up, amused.

"_What _is because of Chuck, Dan? You're being ridiculous. I have to go."

"Very quickly, apparently. It just seems too much of a coincidence that whenever he appears, so does Bitch Blair," he said hotly.

"Bitch Blair? Really? You're doing this now?" she said angrily. "What do you want me to say?" Dan closed his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Nothing, everything – I don't know!"

"Get a grip, Humphrey," Blair rolled her eyes before grabbing the door handle to let herself out.

"I hate you," Dan practically yelled, before his eyes widened in shock. Apparently even he himself didn't know the extent of his anger. She turned slowly, face a mirror image of his. "Just, just forget it. I didn't mean that." But Blair's guard was already up, and she didn't say another word before marching out the door angrily and not looking back.

* * *

It had officially been three weeks, five days, and eighteen hours since Blair had talked to or about Dan Humphrey. Don't get her wrong, she had gotten a shitload of questions from Serena and even Chuck, but they had been ignored or brushed off with the usual "nothing happened!" excuse. They had eventually given up, but she could still feel their eyes on her sometimes when they thought she wasn't looking, still hear whispered murmurs of Dan's name. So this time, when Serena sat down across the table from her and asked if she had been to Brooklyn lately, she snapped. "No! No, I have not seen him in almost a month! I have remained on the Upper East Side. And no, I have _not_ replied to his numerous text messages, and no, no he has _not_ consumed my every thought over the course of the last couple weeks! Okay? Do you get that? No!" Serena waited for the rant to end, all the while staring at her best friend wide-eyed.

"Uh," was all the blonde managed to get out. "I was going to say that Ben had offered to take me to a restaurant there and I wanted to know if you had heard of it. But now that you mention it, you seem a little on edge."

"Ughhhhh," Blair groaned, falling forward and hitting her head against the table. "Do you remember when I told you that there was nothing more pathetic than mourning Dan Humphrey? I've officially sunk that low. And he doesn't even care."

"You're right," Chuck drawled, strolling in. "That is pathetic."

"Oh shut up, Bass," Blair shot daggers at the back of his head. "You don't even get a say in anything."

"Is this an official admittance of your feelings for a certain best friend of mine from Brooklyn?" Nate followed after Chuck.

"Oh my God," Blair sighed. "Why are you all _always _here? I don't understand. Do none of you have anything better to do with your lives?" The three of them all turned to each other, actually contemplating what she had said, before shaking their heads slowly.

"Not really," Serena said, making a face,

"Nope," Nate shrugged.

"That's more than a little bit sad. And _no_, it's not an admittance of my feelings for him, you idiots. I just miss him, damn you all. How many times do I have to tell you that nothing happened that night? We're just friends," Just then the elevator dinged, and a familiar voice rang through the hall.

"Blair, I know you're in here. If you avoid me for even one minute longer, I swear I'll – I don't even know. Is it because of what I said before you left? I've been beating myself up for that for practically a month, okay? You know I didn't mean it, I don't hate you. Just, just talk to me. Please?" Dan called out, sounding unsure.

"Just friends my ass," Chuck growled angrily, turning to Blair. But she was nowhere to be found. Dan wandered into the kitchen then, obviously surprised and a little embarrassed to see them all there.

"Well, this is awkward," he chuckled nervously. "Has uh, has anyone seen Blair?"

"She was just here," Nate said, confused. He turned around in a circle as if she would magically reappear.

"It's okay, Natie," Serena winked at him before patting him on the back a couple times.

"Hey!" Nate said, mock angry. "I still haven't forgiven her for that one. I'll have you know that I'm as observant as I am smart."

"So, not very, I'm guessing," Chuck said apologetically, giving Nate a pat on the back of his own. "Aaaand I'm gonna go check on Blair while you process that little tidbit."

"No man, it's okay, I got it," Dan stepped in front of Chuck as he was attempting to climb the staircase. This just served to aggravate him. Chuck had enough of a fucking problem with the two of them even being just friends. It was just _weird_ and not right.

"Uh, pretty sure she doesn't want to see you," Chuck shoved Dan, who stumbled back slightly. "I mean, could you _be _any more pathetic? At least most guys know how to take a hint – the girl ran _away _from you. She's been avoiding you for a month. Get a grip, Humphrey." And then Dan was transported back to that night in his apartment, when Blair had said the exact same thing to him. Before he knew it he was shoving Chuck back with all his strength. He saw the exact moment that the fire lit up in Chuck's eyes – he stared up at him menacingly from the floor and Dan immediately knew that this was trouble. Chuck heaved himself up off the ground, practically seething with anger. A fist came directly at Dan's face, and he somehow managed to dodge it only to get caught in the eye by the other one. That was gonna leave a mark. But no matter, Dan was fueled by anger now as well. During the course of Chuck and Blair's relationship, she had been walked over and used as a bargaining chip and hurt, and he knew this because he had been the one that she had called to vent to. To hell if this same person was going to do that to her all over again. This, Dan decided, was as good a time as any to release all the pent up rage and jealousy he had been struggling with since he had first realized his feelings for Blair. So he swung and hit and Chuck did likewise. If he saw blood he didn't care, the punches just continued to fly. He barely recognized Serena's screams at them to stop, or Nate's attempts to break them apart.

"What the hell is going on here?" Blair's panicked voice shrilled from the top of the stairs. She had apparently ventured out of her room out of curiousity. "Stop it you two, stop!" She flew down the staircase, hovering above where the two of them were fighting. Dan was momentarily distracted by the actual sight of her horrified face – after all, it _had _been a while. This gave Chuck the perfect opportunity to send one final punch that sent Dan reeling. And then a kick. And then another one. And another. Then everything went black.

* * *

When he came to, it was with such a feeling of nauseousness that he rolled over and clutched at his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Chuck sitting on the couch, Blair holding an ice pack to his cheek as he sat there fuming. "When Humphrey wakes up, I'm up for round two," he grumbled.

"Oh, you mean you're up for apologizing to him?" she raised an eyebrow at him, and he glared at her in return. Dan wasn't sure if the need to vomit was from the pain in his head or seeing them in such close proximity to each other – watching her nurse him back to health while he lay alone on the black and white tiled floor. He stared at it dazedly as he tried to figure out the least painful way to get up. Damn, that Bass had a hard hand. Either that or he was truly the world's biggest wimp. Probably the latter. Dan had never really been a big fighter. He began to sit up, moaning when another wave of dizziness hit him and he flopped back down to the floor. Everyone turned towards him at the noise, and Blair shoved the ice into Chuck's hand while attempting to check on Dan. Serena got there first though, and she cradled Dan's head in her hands, much to Blair's obvious disappointment. She covered it up quickly though, clearing her throat loudly and standing above him.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked him.

"Chuck is dead," was all he managed to get out. That caused said Bass to stand up and start towards him angrily.

"I think we both know how that ended last time," he growled.

"Unfair advantage," Dan spat. "I was distracted."

"Last time I checked, loser still meant loser. Which still means you."

"Cut it out!" Serena turned to glare at Chuck. "God, could you two just fucking quit it for one moment? Come on Nate, help me get him back to Brooklyn." Nate nodded at her, and together they helped Dan stand. Once up, Dan shrugged them both off.

"I can manage," he told them. "Wounded pride, no big." With that he hobbled over to the elevators and pressed the button. It was obvious that Blair was still angry with him, there wasn't anything to stay here for obviously. Nate got into the elevator with him when it came anyways.

"I can help you home, man," he said. "No trouble. I kinda need to crash tonight anyways." With that the elevator doors began to close, but not before Dan locked eyes with Blair one last time. Once they were gone, Blair turned on her heel and began to stomp angrily up the stairs.

"Blair," Chuck called after her, aggravated by her dramatics. It wasn't until she turned back around that he noticed her eyes had welled up with tears that had just begun to fall.

"What? What do you want from me now?" she called down at him. "I need to be alone." So she left Serena and Chuck in her wake, both equally confused by her sudden change in attitude. Wandering into her room she sank down onto her bed, numbly swearing to herself that she is Blair Waldorf and who the fuck does Dan Humphrey think he is that he can traipse in and out of her life like this? But then again, she's the one who always allows him to. After cursing him in her mind for a couple more minutes, she decides it's not worth her tears. She finally looks around her room curiously – wondering what one would think if they just casually had stumbled across it, with no previous knowledge of who she was. She noted the expensive furniture of course, but that's not what people look at. No, they'd look at all the unopened party invitations from months ago, that she had probably ignored to visit Brooklyn. And they'd look at the Rosemary's Baby case that still lay open on her bedside table, next to the phone from that fateful Valentine's Day night which he had saved the remainder of. And maybe they'd see the coffee cup she'd kept if they looked carefully enough. It was silly that she still had it, of course, but she'd tucked it away in a drawer in her desk. She remembered that dark, dark time when she had had to balance school and work and life and oh God. Blair had reached her breaking point, falling asleep on her desk at work, but when she awoke his sweater had been draped over her shoulders, and there had been a still-warm styrofoam cup of coffee on her desk with a little note scribbled on it in his handwriting.

_Blair,_

_Stop making me so worried and go home and get a good night's sleep._

_xx Dan_

She had felt kind of warm and fuzzy inside when he had said that he worried about her, but then shook it off. Until, of course, a co-worker walked in gushing over the fact that she just had the _sweetest_ boyfriend _ever_, and oh my God she just needed to find herself a Prince Charming of her own. Blair had just smiled and thanked her, making no move to correct the other woman. Would people think that Dan was her boyfriend if they were poking around in here? Noticing the picture on her nightstand of her, Dan and Serena that had been taken over the Christmas break, she took a moment to inspect it a little further. She picked it up, trailing her finger over the cool glass. Serena was smiling directly at the camera of course, looking absolutely perfect, but Blair herself was attempting not laugh. The reason for this, it seemed, being Dan, who was full out laughing as he looked down at her. Serena had dubbed the portrait their first day of getting along, but Blair and Dan knew that was of course, wrong. They had been hanging out for weeks before S had come home. All of a sudden Blair threw the picture down onto the bed. Everything in this room just reminded her of Dan Humphrey. She grabbed her phone from her purse and checked it. Fifteen texts from Dan already. Opening the first one, she read _Are you okay?_ and clenched her jaw in frustration. She would give him persistence, that's for sure. A quiet knock came from the door and she ignored it, locking her door for good measure – Blair was not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. She felt like shit. Returning to sit on her bed she looked over at all of the uneaten boxes of chocolate left over from Valentine's Day. If she was going to be unhappy, she might as well be unhappy with some gourmet truffles sitting in her stomach. She picked up the first box and absentmindedly scanned the chocolate listing, eating all the ones that sounded good. And then she ate the rest. And then the next box. And then the next. All the while thinking of Dan. And how she may or may not have feelings for him. Her heart flew into her throat when she realized what she had thought, and when someone knocked on the door again she burst into frustrated tears. Why would no one leave her alone? She just continued to ignore it, sobbing and eating. Soon she was bawling so hard that she couldn't even see what she was stuffing her face with, but she continued to anyways. Nothing was making sense to her right now. And if nothing was making sense, then what was the point of anything? The knocking was getting more frantic but she ignored it, choosing to fixate on the food. She hadn't even realized it had gotten to this point but when she found herself unconsciously moving towards the bathroom and closing the door, she already knew why. As she knelt above the porcelain toilet bowl, her crying slowed slightly. She couldn't control Dan or her apparent feelings for him, but hell if anyone could tell her she couldn't control this. So with that Blair stuck her middle finger to the back of her throat, holding it there until the familiar burn returned and she was heaving the contents of her stomach up. Everything seemed to move in slow motion then. Serena burst into the washroom, followed by Chuck who chose to stay at the bathroom door, only watching her with concern etched upon his handsome features.

"What have I done?" Blair whispered out loud, mostly to herself. She knew what she must look like, face red with makeup running down it.

"Oh God, Blair," Serena was aghast, kneeling down on the floor and wrapping Blair up in her arms. "Why?" the blonde murmured. "Why, why, why?"

"I don't know," Blair collapsed in a fresh wave of tears. "But he probably never wants to see me again." This was so unlike her to say that even she froze when the words came out of her mouth. But Serena just rolled with the punches, turning to Chuck who was looking out of place and asking him if he minded calling Dan and telling him to get his ass over here.

"I do mind, actually. Very much so," Chuck growled. But his face softened when he looked at Blair. "But fine. I guess."

"No," Blair practically shouted, startling everyone. "I don't want anyone to see me like this," she added more quietly. But to no avail, Chuck was already out the door with his cell phone pressed to his ear.

* * *

Dan and Nate had finally made it back to the apartment. They walked in to the ringing of the phone, and Nate snatched it up off of the wall while Dan went to lie on the couch to sulk. "What?" Nate asked incredulously. "No. You must be mistaken. You _saw_ her do it? Shit." Dan opened one eye to look at his friend, and was worried by the look of concern on his face. "She hasn't done that in ages, man. Yeah, of course we'll be right over. Shit," he repeated. Then he hung up the phone and turned to Dan. "It's Blair. She's been throwing up again. Damnit. We need to get back over there."

"Wait, what?" Dan asked, confused. "Like she has the flu?" Nate just stared at him, obviously confused. Then realization dawned on his face and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Dude, she never told you? Shitttt. Blair used to be a hardcore bulimic, but it's been ages since that resurfaced."

"So you're telling me that she _makes _herself throw up?" Dan asked, not bothering to hide his obvious worry. He was wringing his hands as he talked.

"Yeah," Nate cringed as he slid his coat back on. "It's a bad scene, overall."

"Well let's go then," Dan was already out the door and on his way out the building. Once outside they quickly hailed a taxi, and Dan recited an address that he never thought he'd have memorized. The two boys sat impatiently in the backseat, telling the driver that it was an emergency and that they needed to get there as soon as possible. Of course he still managed to go as slowly as he could, and it took the two of them five minutes to just find the money needed when they had reached the building.

"You go up," Nate shooed him off as he reached into his pockets to grab the rest of the money. "I'm sure they're wondering what's taking us so long – Serena must be flipping a shit." Dan nodded his thanks before jogging into the building. Once inside the elevator he pressed the button for her floor repeatedly, tapping his foot on the ground when it seemed to take much too long to get there. Finally the doors slid apart, and he skidded into the room, almost colliding with Chuck who was pacing the floor.

"Where is she?" Dan asked him.

"Upstairs," came the gruff reply.

"Then what are you doing down here?" he asked, confused.

"Because she wants _you_, you idiot," Chuck practically shouted, before composing himself and straightening his tie.

"M-me?" Dan asked, awkwardly pointing at himself.

"No, the other person in the room. But if we're being honest, I'm surprised as well," Chuck attempted to come off as sounding bored, but the hurt in his voice was clear. "This is all because of you, you know. She was upset that you left and so she went off the deep end again. So thank yourself that she's up there, crying." Dan was itching for his fist to come in contact with Chuck's face again, but he ignored the impulse and began to take the stairs to Blair's room two steps at a time. He walked inside, instantly tired from all the avoiding that had been going on. And that's when he saw her. She looked up at him, face wet with tears and he realized suddenly that he was shaking. Serena looked back and forth between them before taking it as her cue to leave. As soon as she was gone Dan realized his anger had finally bubbled to the surface, and he turned around, running his hands through his hair frustratedly.

"What the fuck, Blair? Why on _earth _would you even dream of doing this to yourself?" he tried to keep his voice steady, but failed.

"I just – I thought you weren't coming back and-"

"Bullshit!" he turned back towards her now, staring her straight in the eyes. "You _know _that I always come back. Hell, I sent you a dozen messages just on the way home alone." She was silent at that – it was true.

"So why – really. Tell me why," he asked her quietly. "Don't blame this on me. I would hate myself until the day I died if I had any part in doing this to you." She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued anyways. "Actually, no. Just wait one second. I'm angry. Furious, even. Do you even understand how concerned we've all been – how worried I am? I felt like I was going to be physically ill the entire way here. And you didn't even _mention_ this before. I stupidly asked Nate if you had caught the flu, and _he _had to explain it to me."

"Because it was _before_," Blair finally spoke, raising her voice in frustration. "It was before everything and I just wanted to forget it because I'm tired of remembering. I didn't want you to know about that time of my life for a reason. It's done, it's over, I'm never going to do it again. I didn't like it Dan. I used to love it – love the feeling that it was my body and I could do whatever I wanted to it. This time was different though. I felt disgusted after." He was quiet, just staring at her as though she was someone he had never seen before.

"I'll take your word for it," he sighed, defeated, and she nodded back at him, happy that he still trusted her enough to. "I just don't understand," he offered. "Every time we've been within speaking distance lately every single conversation is a fight. And it hasn't changed anything."

"What do you mean, it hasn't changed anything?" she sniffed.

"I'm still in love with you!" he cried out, throwing his hands up. "And I don't know what to do with that. I mean – you're you and I'm me. But _still_, all I want to do is kiss you and hold you and be there for you and I don't know why."

"Dan," she tried, but he shushed her.

"No, just leave it. I know we're just friends and I know what you're about to say, okay? So don't," he smiled wanly, looking anywhere but at her.

"Daniel Humphrey," she stood up now, stamping one foot on the ground out of aggravation. But there was a small smile on her face that hadn't been there before. "Don't you dare go putting words in my mouth." And then she did something he had never expected of her. She walked towards him, grasped his face with both hands, and smashed her lips against his. Once he got over the initial shock, he kissed her until they were both breathless.

"I won't," he promised. "But only if you put your tongue back in mine." She made a face at that and blushed deeply.

"Ew, gross. You Humphrey's make everything sounds so.. so crass." He laughed out loud, his previous bad mood gone as he pulled her flush to his body, dipping her backwards and kissing her once again. They heard slow clapping begin from the door and realized that they now had an audience.

"Oh the joys of intercom," Serena laughed, pointing at the box next to Blair's bed, the button connecting her room to the rest of the house taped down. "Couldn't miss that conversation, sorry." Blair was indignant for a moment before Dan pulled her close and pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek, causing her to turn even redder than before.

"Oh shut up," she said coyly. "Guess I've finally found his appeal. But just barely." This caused Dan to press a hand to his heart as he pretended to be wounded by her words.

"There are so many reasons why this shouldn't work," Nate said, amusement clear in his voice. "But I will definitely stick around to see them all play out." Chuck only nodded at Dan. It wasn't approval but it was the closest thing he'd get. If Chuck loved Blair as much as he said he did, he would allow her to be happy. And apparently she was happy with Dan Humphrey. Hey. He was as surprised as everyone else.

* * *

It had been two months since they had officially begun dating, and all was well in the world. Well – kind of, Dan thought, as he dodged yet another vase that was being flung directly toward his head with amazing precision. He ducked behind a corner, deciding he was safe for a moment.

"You little shit!" she yelled angrily at him. "Come back out and take it like a man!"

"Sorry, Blair. I'd prefer to live to see tomorrow," he called out cautiously. The elevator dinged and when the doors opened Serena walked out just in time to see a plate smash against the wall behind her. She took it well, choosing only to turn around and press the lobby button, returning to wherever it was she had just come from. "Aw, now look what you did – you even scare your own best friend away."

"Oh, you think you're all funny now?" Blair stormed around the corner towards him, grabbing him by the shirt collar and dragging him along after her, before thrusting him onto the couch. Dan braced himself for whatever torture method she had in store for him, and was surprised when she straddled him instead, giving him a drugging kiss while multi-tasking and unbuttoning his shirt. "I hate this damn plaid," she got out between kisses. "I should have just ripped it off." She was nipping at his neck now and since he wasn't entirely sure what was going on he just let his hands rest possessively at her hips. "I just get so jealous," she mewled as she kissed her way down his stomach, allowing her tongue to swirl around each of his nipples, and he stiffened as she crept lower and lower down his body. "That new intern was all over you today and it made me angry. I almost fired her," she whispered confidentially. "But nope," Blair popped the p at the same time she unbuttoned his jeans. "Apparently boyfriend-stealing whore isn't a good enough reason for termination. But you were flirting with her," she glared up at him and he found it hard to take her seriously when her mouth was _thisclose _to being around his cock. He hissed in pleasure when she took the whole thing in at once, and the sight of her face bobbing up and down on him was almost enough to send him over the edge.

"No, I wasn't," he managed to get out. "You know I love you, Blair. Shit," he blurted out when she began to suck in earnest. "It feels so good." She looked up at him through her doe eyes when he spoke, and she looked so innocent that he couldn't help but set a hand on the back of her head. Suddenly his cell phone rang, and he was prepared to ignore it when she pulled back and stared at him mischieviously.

"Take it," she wiggled her eyebrows at him, which caused him to raise his at her in return. "Go on," Blair prodded. He was confused, but complied.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, is it safe to come up?" Chuck's voice drawled over the line. "I just ran into Serena and she told me there was a fight – something about lots of broken glass."

"Uh, yeah," Dan began, but let out a curse when Blair suddenly decided to continue going down on him. "Fuck," he bit out. "I mean uh-"

"Are you okay, Humphrey?" Chuck asked, confused.

"Yeah, man, yeah – it's just uh, well, oh my God," he muttered as Blair took him deep into her throat.

"I'm going to hang up now and pretend that whatever is happening over there isn't really happenening, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Dan sighed. "See you later." As soon as he closed the phone Blair's innocent look returned.

"Oops," she shrugged. "Was that distracting?"

"Damn you, Waldorf. Damn you," he was prepared to say more when she decided she couldn't leave him all turned on like that. She pulled away from him, standing up and unzipping her dress, allowing it to fall to the floor gracefully. Dan was always amazed by Blair's body, it was perfect. Curvy in all the right places, and still toned. She turned away from him before tossing her head over shoulder.

"Unhook me?" she asked flirtatiously. And who was he to deny her anything? So he obliged, ridding her of her lingerie before carrying her bridal style up the stairs. "Didn't know you were this strong," she commented as he reached the top of the spiral staircase.

"Just what every man wants to hear, I'm sure," he rolled his eyes. "And I'll have you know that _you_, my dear, are very light." Then he tossed her onto the bed, laughing as she squealed. He climbed on top of her and brushed the hair out of her eyes gently.

"I love you," he said quietly, smiling.

"Love you too," she whispered back, before flipping him over so that she was on top. "Now get to the good part, Humphrey. Brooklyn better have taught you _something_." And it had, he decided. But not as much as the Upper East Side, where everyone lies and schemes and cheats their way through life. Because he finally realized that most things aren't what they seem. Which wasn't always a bad thing, he decided. Not if it's how he got her.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed! Review Q: are you a Dair lover? I'm obviously a huge fan of them, but sadly most people aren't. I don't mind CB though! Leave me some love everybody, hahaha!


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